🔗 Share this article Survivors of Catholic Religious Sexual Abuse Voice Hope After Meeting with Pope Leo End Clergy Abuse Global representatives and survivors gather in St. Peter Square after the meeting with the Pontiff People who endured sexual abuse by church officials have voiced renewed hope after their first meeting with Pope Leo at the Holy See. Gemma Hickey, heading the anti-abuse organization, stated that the Pope's choice to engage with them so early in his leadership spoke volumes about his commitment to tackling the problem. Worldwide Strict Approach Advocated The organization is advocating for a worldwide strict approach that would permanently remove any clergy member who admits to or is proven of abusing a child. This approach has already been adopted in the US. The Pontiff recognized that there is "resistance in certain regions of the world" to this initiative, according to Hickey. "We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is pushback," Hickey stated. Legacy Challenge The current pontiff, who assumed the position in May, has inherited this longstanding problem that has haunted the Church for many years. Earlier attempts to address the situation included an historic meeting on child abuse within the institution and changes to canon law to clearly outlaw sexual abuse. Deeply Felt Link For Hickey, who uses they/them pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the measure is personal. The Canadian advocate revealed they were abused by a priest who was later transferred between various churches. "Hopefully this will set the tone for his leadership, because we want to work with him," Hickey expressed. "Both sides share the same goal, we seek to eliminate abuse by religious officials." Significant Encounter Multiple members of the coalition, which includes victims and advocates from over thirty countries, engaged with the Pope in his Vatican office. The discussion, initially planned for a brief period, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to the representative. The pontiff was described as "quite empathetic" when listening to the account of a woman abused at a Catholic residential school for native youth in North America. They added the leader was "tender" about their own story and appeared "modest, humorous, and very down to earth." "Victims have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," Hickey stated. "I believed like he was sincere, practical, and receptive and keen to collaborate with us." The Pontiff celebrates Mass in the Vatican on recently Canon Law Reforms The group is hoping that changes to canon law will facilitate the implementation of the strict approach globally. They have consulted specialists and compiled documents that they will present to the pontiff. "He appeared interested in reviewing it," they noted. Accountability Emphasized A recently released church-ordered document highlighted the "importance of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or removal of religious officials or staff in cases of abuse or failure to act." The report also pointed out that survivors consistently emphasized the "urgent need for bishops and major superiors to be made responsible for inaction and concealment." Moving Forward Hickey shared they informed the pontiff at the beginning of their meeting: "This represents as much a risk for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us." Following the encounter, Hickey expressed hope for progress. "We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, uniting and building a connection and continuing to strengthen that relationship is a move in the right direction," they commented. Hickey added that they shared with the pontiff: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can change how the story ends - he appreciated that."